A referendum on the eighth amendment will be held on May 25th, it was confirmed today.
After the bill made its final passage through the Seanad, backed by 40 votes to 10, it was confirmed this evening that the referendum will be held in May date as expected.
Recent weeks have seen a step up in campaigning from both sides of the debate. With prominent campaigns launching and canvassing underway, efforts are set to intensify over the next eight weeks.
The decision will be formally announced at a press conference by Minister for Health Simon Harris and Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy.
This clarification gives long-awaited certainty on the referendum date. Student groups had lobbied for an earlier date to ensure that they would be able to vote in one of the most historic referendums of the last decade.
Despite being widely backed in both houses of the Oireachtas, the bill hasn’t been without controversy. Earlier this week, Tánaiste Simon Coveney called for a two-thirds majority lock on the law enacted should the eighth amendment be repealed. This proposal, which was highly criticised, was abandoned yet Coveney explained that the Cabinet had decided to explore other ways “in which we would provide that reassurance” to those worried about unrestricted abortion. Coveney has previously expressed his concern over what a repeal of the eighth amendment would mean.
The referendum will be the culmination of years of calls for greater liberalisation of Ireland’s abortion laws. Both the Citizens’ Assembly and Oireachtas Committee on the eighth amendment admitted that there was a need for widespread changes to the law as it currently stands.
Earlier this month, on International Women’s Day, hundreds of students rallied in Front Square before joining a city-wide march calling for the eighth amendment to be repealed. This march in the capital was accompanied by many smaller protests across the country.
The following weekend, Trinity students joined thousands of pro-life protesters as they also made their voices heard in a huge rally across Dublin.
